Al-Zahraa

The al-Zahraa District is a town located in the A'zaz district of northwestern Aleppo, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. In 2004, al-Zahraa had a population of 13,780 people, with most of them being Shia Alawites; the district, along with Nubl, formed a Shia pocket in a predominantly-Sunni area. Since July 2012, the district was besieged by the Syrian Opposition during the Syrian Civil War, and the siege was broken by a Syrian Arab Army and Hezbollah attack on 3 February 2016. However, it was caught up in the battle of Aleppo in the following months as the Fatah Halab operations room fought over the district, including some clashes in April and May that saw the Islamist militants attempt to seize the Family House amusement park, Syrian Air Force Intelligence Headquarters, and the Great Prophet Mosque.